Two Women, Two Wheels, One World Record
Catherine Dixon (Cat) and Rachael Marsden (Raz) – known as TandemWOW – had an ambitious plan to circumnavigate the world on a tandem bicycle, raising money for charity with every pedal stroke. After 263 days of tandem pedalling they arrived back in the UK at the end of March 2020, just before Europe began locking down during the Covid-19 pandemic. They endured emotional and physical hardships, hunger and exhaustion, travelling through storms, monsoon rains, brutal headwinds and fires. But they returned home not just having circumnavigated the world and raising £37,000 for charity, but with a new world record - taking 17 days off the previous men’s world record!
With Cat and Raz’ world record being officially announced by Guinness on 29th July 2020, they’ve given us a window into their 263 days round the world in a series of blog posts. Each post represents a different chapter of their journey and features their words, their pictures and their videos from their incredible adventure. For more details of their trip, head to their website here.
Chapter 1: How did we get here?
Chapter 2: Trieste to Thessalonika
Chapter 3: India
Chapter 4: Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
Chapter 5: Australia
Chapter 6: America
Chapter 7: Morroco, Spain and France
The Route
18,000 miles across the planet. Check out the route here: https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/tandemwow/?51.115989,-0.919848,5.79
Beginning in Oxford, the pair pedalled to Dover and from Calais cycled across Europe to Georgia. There, they caught a plane to Mumbai and made their way around India’s western, southern and eastern coastlines before heading through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. A plane journey then landed them in Australia where they cycled west to east across the county to New Zealand. From New Zealand, the pair arrived in California and cycled to Florida. Then, arriving in Morocco, cycled through Spain, France and back to the UK with a new world record.
Media
Enjoyed the Tandem Round the World Series? There are plenty more stories available at our stories page here.